𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 | 𝐃. 𝐃𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐙𝐎 |

CHAPTER 17.

𝙻𝙾𝙽𝙳𝙾𝙽 𝙻𝙴𝙽𝙰𝙴 𝙳𝙸𝚅𝙸𝙽𝙲𝙴𝙽𝚉𝙾
- Memphis, Tennessee -
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The entire flight to Memphis was...rough. For me, at least. I was too busy thinking of and about what Mikey said and what I had said to him. Believe me, I felt bad for pushing him away, but not for reasons that you may think. It has absolutely nothing to do with him or his feelings, but it has everything to do with mine.

I guess you could say that I was disappointed in myself for being so worked up and foolish and well, delusional over a guy who didn't really see me.

For Mikey, it was as if he liked the idea of me, but not me—he picked certain aspects that he wanted or found were the opposite of everything that Jada was and decided to try to make it his. It also seemed as if he thought he wanted a girl like me; a girl who wasn't easily manipulated, a girl who was strong willed and had a mind of her own. Someone who wasn't going to be controlled or taken advantage of, but he also wanted to be in control.

It was like putting a left shoe on your right foot. It didn't mix.

"Lolo," Malachi said, tapping my shoulder as we slowly made our way through the airport. "You good? You keep staring off into space."

Deuce, who was standing on the other side of me, nodded his head in agreement and said, "Yeah, you've been that way since we got on the plane. It's starting to scare the shit out of me."

"Yeah, it's giving Vecna's Curse from Stranger Things." DJ grinned, pointing to his Stranger Things t-shirt he was wearing.

This guy.

Olive rolled her eyes. "DJ, try not to be a nerd for once in your life, okay? Try really, really hard."

"Prick." DJ mumbled, only to get plucked by Olive, making all of us laugh.

Cash shook his head and put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close. "But no really, what's going on? We know that somethings going on. Just tell us."

"Cousin pact, remember?" Malachi said. "We tell each other everything."

"If you won't tell them, we will." Jelena said as we slowly followed behind our parents.

I shrugged. "I just feel like I wasted my time for an entire year just having a crush on Mikey and waiting on him. I feel like I should've waited for someone who was worth my time."

"Honestly," Malachi said with a shrug. "I could've told you that. Based off of what I heard about the guy, he was bound to end up like that from jump."

Deuce nodded in agreement. "Yep. Always trying to be something he's not and claim a lifestyle that he never had, but how did you waste your time? I thought you wasn't in nothing with him?"

I shrugged. "I mean, at first, I thought that I was in something with him, but he ended up ghosting me for his ex and...then the moment he saw me talking with another guy, he tried to play the 'you hurt my feelings' card."

"Damn," Olive chuckled. "Toxicity at its finest."

"Then his ex, Jada, gives her hell any time she sees Lolo, because she knows that at one point, Mikey really considered leaving her for Lo." Harmonie added.

Malachi jerked his head back and rolled his eyes. "All this over a nigga? Ridiculous."

"So, who's the new guy?" DJ asked.

"What new guy?" I asked.

"You said there was a new guy." Cash said. "Well, you said Mikey got mad at you talking to another guy, and let's be real, you don't give a guy a lick of attention unless they're your friend or if you like them."